Say Hello to OpenTalk - the future of secure video conferencing

We are pleased to announce the start of the introductory phase of OpenTalk - our new video conferencing solution at mailbox.org. This is an exciting event for colleagues at our sister company, which was founded in 2021. OpenTalk offers a user-friendly, secure, and digitally sovereign video conferencing experience. Thanks to its open-source code base and modern IT architecture, the software is GDPR-compliant and supports special requirements and sessions with many users.

“Good communication starts with independence. And that is exactly what the development of OpenTalk represents: a secure alternative to other video conferencing solutions that offers true data autonomy.“ says Markus Michels, CEO of OpenTalk.

As of today, all subscribers to a mailbox.org PREMIUM or STANDARD price plan can go ahead and test OpenTalk. The feature is accessible through the menu bar after login, which now has a new video conferencing icon. Alternatively, users can log in directly at https://opentalk.mailbox.org using their regular mailbox.org login credentials.

Initially, OpenTalk will be available as an additional option alongside our existing video conferencing solution Jitsi. After the introductory phase has ended, Jitsi will be replaced completely by OpenTalk, as the latter offers a much better user experience, improved security, and better features to meet the requirements of provider operations. Like our other services, mailbox.org operates the new video conferencing solution within our own data centre in Germany.

An idea becomes OpenTalk

How did OpenTalk actually come about? Over the last two years, the work lives of many people have changed dramatically. Our team members, too, suddenly found themselves working remotely and experimenting with different video conferencing solutions. As it happened, Heinlein Support had been commissioned to set up a video conferencing platform for the administration of the city of Berlin around the same time. Any of the existing solutions, most of which hosted in the US, were not acceptable for data protection reasons. We wanted a video conferencing solution that respects the digital sovereignty of its users and that can be operated independently. As for existing open-source solutions, we found that these suffered from image quality and performance issues, which made them difficult to scale for deployment at a professional level in a provider environment like that of mailbox.org.

We soon realised that we weren't getting anywhere with those existing solutions. Instead, we realised that we can create what we need, and more: a solution that is more modern, more comfortable to use, more secure and, of course, open-source! The founding of OpenTalk as a product development company was the logical consequence, and our team quickly developed ideas for a whole range of features that would make a video conference experience more productive and user-friendly. And then they got to work and started developing that solution.

The launch of OpenTalk marks an important milestone for digital sovereignity and security for video conferences.

OpenTalk starts with these features

At launch, OpenTalk will come with all features that are essential for a modern video conference experience. During the introductory phase, the existing features will be further optimised and new features rolled out.

Currently available features:

• Dashboard
  • Schedule new meetings
  • Send meeting invite links
  • Start ad-hoc meetings
  • Display meeting schedule
• Lobby and connection/audio/video tests
• Dynamic video quality adjustment
• Background pictures and blurring
• Screen sharing
• Chat (Public and private messages)
• Breakout rooms
• Voting
• Mute participants (individually / everyone)
• Raise hand
• Stopwatch / Timer
• Push-to-Talk
• Telephone dial-in

Some features that are coming soon:

• Waiting room
• Agenda
• Multiple moderators
• Legally compliant voting
• Whiteboard
• Meeting minutes
• GDPR-compliant recording
• Automatic moderation
• Offboarding
• Whispering (Private audio chat)

Details about all features can be found on the OpenTalk product page ->

Availability in the price plans after the Introductory phase

During the introductory phase, an account may create any number of videoconferences with all features enabled, including support for unlimited numbers of participants. After the introductory phase has ended, the LIGHT price plan willget access to OpenTalk and the features available to individual users will depend on their chosen price plan.

Below we would like to give you a first glance into the planned availability in the price plans:

Furthermore, we are planning an additional package with additional features and higher limits for professional use cases, such as legally compliant voting. The OpenTalk team is working on further features which we will announce in due course – stay tuned!

Do more with OpenTalk

Know-how, passion, and a great deal of experience in the design and operation of secure electronic communication unite our teams across the Heinlein Group.

The OpenTalk team still has a long way to go and needs talented people to support its efforts. Software development happens in Rust for the back end, and JavaScript/React and Redux for the front end.Are you looking for a challenge, and do you want to work on a future-oriented product? Become part of the team: Check out Jobs at OpenTalk →

OpenTalk is open source software. The source code will be published on GitHub in the fourth quarter of 2022. With this, we want to ensure full transparency but also create a community and encourage other developers to contribute their ideas. Find out how you can engage: Learn more →